UAE to study Malaysia's social welfare system

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs will study Malaysia's social welfare programmes for senior citizens and families to see if they can be adapted to the UAE.

Matar Al Tayer, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, yesterday discussed social issues with his visiting Malaysian counterpart, Zahrah Bent Sulaiman, Minister of National Unity and Social Development.

"Recognition of the importance of social work and improving the social status of all citizens was the foundation to the discussions," Sulaiman said. "We are working closely with our academic institutes to help people find the means to improve their living standards."

Sulaiman also met Marriage Fund officials to discuss ways to help young couples through counselling. Al Tayer said a UAE delegation would visit Malaysia next year to study these programmes.

"We intend to learn from their experiences. Social programmes in Malaysia have been very successful and the UAE can benefit from their experience since the two countries share the same religious beliefs, and derive their regulations from Islamic Sharia," he said.

"The Malaysian experience in social work has been implemented successfully with a population of many ethnic and religious groups." He said that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs would establish an accurate database for social communities including senior citizens, impaired children, juveniles and families which need financial support.

"We cannot proceed on implementing social programmes without having a proper database to lead us to a successful output for our projects for improving the social status of citizens," Al Tayer said.